bryant



(No Model V GRIPPER FOR CABLE RAILWAYS, No. 317,967. I Patented May 19,1885L mmu 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. B. BRYANT.

GRIPPER FOR GABLE'RAILWAYS. No. 317,967. Patented May 19, 1885.

W a r i Hiillllllllll! uminmn "mu; llllh Illfll lUNTTn STATES PATENTGEORGE E. BRYANT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOROF ONE-HALF TOEDW'ARD D. DOUGHERTY, OF SAME PLAOE.

GRIPPER. FOR CABLE RAILWAYS.

SPEOIFECATEON forming part of Letters Patent No.317,96'7, dated May 19,1885. Application filed August 16. 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE B. BRYANT, of Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Grippers for Cable Railways; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in grippers, the object being toprovide a device of this character which shall be simple and economicalin construction, and at the same time durable and efficient in use.

A further object is to so construct the grip that when from any causethe cable becomes disengaged therefrom it may be easily and readilycaught withoutthe necessity of stopping the car or engine driving thecable; and with these ends in view my invention consists in certainnovel features of construction and combinations of parts, as will behereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective View of myimprovement. -Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation, and Fig. 3 is a viewin rear elevation.

A represents a plate, preferably made of steel, the lower end of whichis widened, and to the rear side of which lower end is secured the metalplate B, the lower end of the latter being bent, as shown at a, havingthe two horizontal sides 7) b and the vertical side 0. In the horizontalsides I) are secured the ends of bolts or spindles d d, carrying thepipes or rollers e 6, against which is pressed the cable when the car isin motion. On one corner of the plate B is formed a perforated shoulder,e, in which is secured one end of a spindle or bolt, f, at right anglesto the spindles or bolts cl cl, on which spindle and boltf is mounted aroller, g, the other end of the bolt or spindle being headed to preventthe roller slipping off.

To the front of the plate A and opposite the plate B is rigidly secureda metal plate, 0, the lower end of which at each corner being providedwith a perforated lug or projection, h, in which is secured the bolt orspindle, '6. On this spindle or bolt is movably secured the dependingjaw D, the lower end being bent around at right angles, as at j, andwhich is provided with a shoulder or flange, 7c, in which latter and thelower bent end, j, are secured the ends of the vertical bolts orspindles Z, carrying the pipes or rollers m, the said jaw D being ofsuch length that the pipes or rollers in will hang opposite the pipes orrollers e.

To the upper portion of the plate O is securely fastened the metal plateE, on thelower end of which are formed the depending curved arms F, theends of which are perforated and adapted to securely hold the ends ofthe bolt or spindle a, the said end extending down opposite the jaw D.Instead, however, of forming the plates A B O separate, they may beformed in one piece and the plate E secured thereto; or the plates 0 andE may be formed integral and rigidly secured to the plate A. I would,therefore, have it understood that I do not limit myself to the exactconstruction of these plates shown and described, but hold myself atliberty to vary their construction in accordance to the dictate ofcircumstances.

On the said spindle or bolt is mounted a cam-wheel, G, to which issecured the lower ends of the bifurcated-pitman H, the said cam adaptedto bear on the jaw D. It will now be readily seen that by pushing downon the pitman H the cam which is secured near its periphery on the boltor spindle n willbe forced outwardly away from the jaw D,which latter,

when the cam is in position, will by gravity hang in a vertical line andthus separate the pipes or rollers m and 0, between which, the cablepasses, the roller or pipe 9 being adapted to keep the cable in positionbetween the aforesaid rollers or pipes on and e, and prevent it fromfalling down out of reach of the grip. As before stated, when the pitmanis pushed down,the cam is forced outwardly and allows the jaw to hangperpendicularly, and at the same time allows the cable to pass betweenthe rollers or pipes and the grip to stand stationary, a groove, 0,being formed in the jaw in which fits the cam, allowing thejaw to hangplumb. \Vhen, however, the pitman is moved in the opposite direction,thecam is forcedinwardly against the swinging jaw D,which impinges the ropeand locks it tightly between the pipes or rollers m and e. The upper endof the pitman is secured to one end of a lever, I, pivoted, at p to theplate A, the opposite end of said lever being connected to the lower endof the vertical rod J. This latter rod bears against one edge of theplate A and is retained in position by means of the horizontal arms 9,formed integral with the rod and bearing. On opposite sidesis formed avertical elongated slot, 8, in which fit the bolts or spindlesconnecting the ends of opposite arms. The plate A and rod J pass upthrough aslot in the floor of the car, the sides of the slot keeping theplate and rod in position.

When it is desired to startthe car,the operator places his foot on theupper end of the bar or rod J, which is provided with a foot-piece, u,and presses down on the same,which lowers one end of the lever I andraises the outer end, which in turn raises the pitman H, thereby closingthe jaw D on the cable,as before described. WVhen the foot is removedfrom the piece 2), the jaws open, thejaw D assuming a vertical position,which allows the cable to pass be tween the pipes or rollers withoutmoving the grip.

. position.

To the floor K are secured the upper ends of the irons L, located onopposite sides of the plate A, and having their lower end bearing onopposite sides thereof, the said lower ends being connected by a boltwhich passes through an elongated slot, a, formed in the plate, saidbolts working in the slot being adapted to guide the plate in a straightline during its vertical movement. 7

To the plate A,nearits upper end, is secured a cam-wheel, M, to which issecured or formed integral therewith near its periphery anoutwardly-extending arm, N. When in its operating adjustment, the gripis held up in position by means of this cam,which bears on thecar-floor, being thrown back against the piece '0 and prevented fromturning thereby. When, however, from any cause the cable falls to thebottom of the tubing, the grip is let down by simply putting the foot onthe arm N and pressing the cam-wheel around, the jaw being allowed tohang open. After the grip has been let down and cable inserted betweenthe jaws, the latter are closed and the cam M turned around, raising thegrip to its original Therefore, when from accident or wear on the cablea strand or strands thereof happened to break, the consequence was theballing up of the cable in the grip, and

the cable thereby prevented from passing be- 7 .Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a plateprovided at its lower end with astationary jaw having rollers journaled therein, of a swinging jawprovided with rollers, a cam, and devices for forcing thecam against theswinging jaw.

2. The combination, with a plate formed at its lower end with a jawprovided with rollers, of a swinging jaw attached to the plate, and alsoprovided wit-h rollers, a cam mounted on the force it against or awayfrom the swinging jaw,

substantially as set forth.

4.. The combination, with a plate provided at its lower end with a jaw,of a swinging jaw secured to the plate, a cam mounted in arms secured tothe plate, a pitman secured to the cam, the said pitman connected to alever, the opposite end of said lever being connected with a verticalrod extending up through the car-floor, substantially as set forth. 5.The combination, with a plate formed at its lower end with a stationaryjaw provided with rollers, of a swinging jaw secured to the plate, acam, and a rod indirectly connected with said cam, the said rod beingprovided on each side with arms bearing on said plate, the inner ends ofthe arms being connected by bolts working in an elongated slot in theplate, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with a plate formed at its lower end with astationary jaw provided with rollers, of a swinging jaw secured to theplate, and also provided with rollers, a bolt secured in the stationaryjaw and provided with a roller at right angles to said former rollers, acam, and means for forcing the latter against or away from the swingingjaw, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination,with a plate extending up through the car-floor, andprovided at its lower end with a stationary jaw, of a camwheel securedto the plate and bearing on the car-floor, said cam being adapted toraise and lower the plate, a swinging jaw attached to the plate andmeans for forcing it against the stationary jaw, substantially as setforth.

8. The combination, with the plates A, B, and O,ofthejaw D,cam G,pitmanH,and levers I and J, all of the above parts combined and adapted tooperate substantially as set forth.

9. The combination, with the plates A, 'B, and G, of the jaw D, cam G,pitman H, levers I J, and cam M, the above parts combined and adapted tooperate substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE E. BRYANT.

Witnesses:

GEORGE CooK, S. G. NOTTINGHAM.

